Safety Comes First No. 3 At Downriver Is Laden With Simplicity If You Reach The Green Without Losing A Ball

The first piece of advice that Downriver head professional Steve Conner offers on playing this demanding, downhill par-4 which stretches to 366 yards from the tips is to keep your cool on the tee box.

The fairway, while relatively narrow, is not as inaccessible at it looks. There is some room to the left that you can’t see from the tee.

“It looks narrower than it is,” Conner said of the tree-lined fairway that slopes from right to left. “The problem with that is that the narrower the hole looks, the greater the tendency to try to steer the ball rather than just swing freely.

“So, naturally, the results are: Into the trees we go.”

Conner insists there is room for error. But he still recommends that high handicappers tee it up with a club in which they have confidence.

“The key is keeping it in play off the tee,” he explained, “so they should hit whatever club they can hit the straightest, maybe a 3-wood or something. It’s better to sacrifice distance and keep it on the short grass.”

Most low handicappers prefer a long iron off the tee, which is also the play Conner recommends mainly because of the shortness of the hole and the hardness of the flat green, which accepts nothing short of a purely stuck approach shot.

“Obviously, it doesn’t require a long tee ball,” Conner said. “The guys who do hit the ball down there quite a ways have to have a pretty good touch, because it usually takes a little chip-and-run or pitch-and-run shot to get it close if the pin’s up front.

“Some guys will pull out the driver, but as far as percentages go, it’s probably not the best shot to play. Again, it depends a lot on how you’re playing, but you’re not going to gain a whole lot.”

A smarter play, Conner said, its to hit a long iron off the tee and aim it just left of the 150-yard stake on the right side of the fairway. Because of the trees at the front left of the tee box, the hole appears to set up for a draw.

“But you’ve got to be careful,” Conner warned, “because the fairway slopes to the left and there’s a lot of trouble over there. Anything left of the 150 marker will feed back toward the center of the fairway.

“From there, you’re just a wedge or sand wedge away, and it’s a full wedge as opposed to a half wedge.”

And a full wedge, according to Conner, is the preferred shot because it allows you to put more spin on the ball, which is essential for any approach to a hard, flat green.

The No. 3 green is also one of the smallest and most indistinct on the course.

“It’s a plain and simple green,” Conner said, “and I think that makes it even more difficult to hit because when you’re standing back there on the fairway, there’s no definition to it. It looks like a tabletop.”

The putting surface is slightly elevated and stands unprotected by bunkers or water.

“The approach shot is straight forward,” Conner added. “What you see is what you get.

“And once you get there, the green is almost completely flat, so don’t read too much break into your putt.”

Graphic: The 3rd at Downriver